Stock promoters, company insiders busted for alleged $290M ‘pump and dump’ scheme
Anthony Thompson, Eric Van Nguyen and Jay Fung allegedly worked with five company insiders to fool investors into buying worthless stocks, while inflating their own profits.
Jefferson Siegel/New York Daily News Stock promoter Jay Fung (left) appears in Manhattan Supreme Court on Thursday.
A “pump and dump” penny stocks scheme the cheated investors out of a $290 million led to the arrest Thursday of eight people, the Manhattan prosecutors said Thursday.
Three stock promoters allegedly conspired with five company insiders to hoodwink people into making worthless investment.
“These individuals ... are charged with using their positions as stock promoters and company insiders to inflate their own profits through fraud and deceit,” said Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr.
“We will not allow this kind of manipulation to occur in our markets,” he said.
The three promoters — Anthony Thompson, 38, Eric Van Nguyen, 30, Jay Fung, 40 — used websites they controlled to send email blasts promoting the penny stocks, Vance said.
The suspects worked five others to gained control of public shell companies with available shares and merged them with new, private entities, according to an indictment.
Jefferson Siegel/New York Daily News Anthony Thompson is another stock promoter who was allegedly part of the scheme.
The corporate insiders then issued millions of shares to themselves, associates, friends and family to pump up prices, according to prosecutors.
Once investors were duped, the suspects then liquidated, or “dumped” their own shares leaving the stock nearly worthless, the indictment charges.
Thompson of Bethesda, Md., Fung of Delray Beach, Fla., and Van Nguyen of Quebec, Canada, were hit with felony counts of criminal possession of stolen property, grand larceny and scheme to defraud.
Others indicted were Hanna Schmieder, 39, of Los Angeles, Kenneth Oxsalida, 59, of Sebring Fla., Joseph Dervalli, 54, of Pembroke Pines, Fla., Luz Rodriguez, 47, of Miramar, Fla. and Christopher Baleeiro, 31, of North Bay Village, Fla.
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